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At least 140 paintings by renowned Indonesian artist Widayat were stolen
from his Magelang, Central Java, museum last week, an H. Widayat Museum
official said on Sunday.

The art thieves assaulted the museum’s
security staff, locking them in a room before they stole some 140
paintings from the gallery floor and the building’s storage room, museum
director Fajar Purnomo Sidi said.

“These people know art... ”
Fajar said of the robbers. “It happened at two or three o’clock in the
morning. They transported the paintings by truck. Right now we have no
idea where the collection might be.”

Museum staff was still checking on the total number of missing paintings on Sunday.

“This
figure still need to be cross-checked. But for the time being, based on
our initial assessment, there are 140 collections which have been
stolen,” Fajar said.

Widayat has been described as “one of the
most influential Javanese painters of the 20th Century.” He was known
for reinterpreting traditional Javanese legends through a modern,
abstract lens.

The artist produced more than 1,000 works before
his death in 2002. A painting titled “Adam and Eve in Paradise” recently
sold for $134,635 at a Christie’s

Fajar said the museum staff didn’t want to estimate the value of the missing paintings.

“We
can’t say the value of the [paintings] stolen” he said. “We don’t want
the paintings to be traded for money, we want the pieces [back].”

Update:

Museum
caretaker Iskandar said six people had visited him on Thursday and one
of them, who claimed to be a shareholder of the museum, had asked him
for the key.

"Since he said he was a shareholder of the museum, I
handed him the key. He told me to stay in my house," Iskandar said
Saturday evening as quoted by tempo.co.

"I was informed by the guards that 140 paintings had gone missing at 3 a.m.," Iskandar said.

Museum
director Fajar Purnomo Sidi said he had been questioned by the police
regarding the incident. He suspected the thief was one of the late
artist Widayat’s 11 children.

In mid-2010, one of Widayat's sons
also reported the suspected theft of his late father's paintings after
discovering three paintings -- Sakura, Bis Kota and Andong -- at an
auction house.

The H. Widayat Museum, which houses about 1,000 of
Widayat's paintings, was officially opened to the public in April 1994
by former education minister Wardiman Djojonegoro.(iwa)

Himself a former trafficker of stolen art, Turbo Paul Hendry M.A. provides information to the readers of his blogs (including collectors, victims, insurers, and other members of the public) regarding the latest news from the world of stolen art and artifacts and, wherever possible, he assists in the recovery of art and artifacts stolen by others. Art Hostage, for the last Ten years, has provided services to private individuals, insurers, law enforcement agencies, and to those who have information that will lead to the recovery of stolen art.